Black Moses Wrings Water From Rocks

By
From `The Wreck of the Barque Stefano' /
September 2, 1992

SUDDENLY a rustling in the brush beside the cave caught our attention, and a moment later two stalwart savages appeared in our midst....The one nearest me came over and started to feel my arms and touch my skin....The native's facial expression and gestures suggested that he understood we were dying of thirst and hunger.... The savages suddenly began digging in the sandy soil with their bare hands, and soon the sand they were removing appeared damp.... Half-frantic with thirst, we greedily grabbed handfu ls of wet dirt and stuffed it in our mouths. The natives, evidently unconcerned about our strange behavior, continued digging and walling to a depth of about five feet, where clear fresh water streamed into the hole....We hurriedly gulped cooling drafts - once, twice, three times.

We filled the empty bottles that we had carried for the past ten days in anticipation of finding water. Like the well, my heart suddenly overflowed with gratitude to our black Moses who had miraculously wrung water from the rocks of the desert to save us from perishing.